SolfetoFixed do and movable do
In fixed do, do is always C, re is always D, and so on, whatever key the music is in. In movable do, do is the first note of the key you are in, so in G major do is G. Fixed do names absolute pitches. Movable do names a note's place in the key, which is relative pitch.
The syllables in fixed do
In fixed do the seven syllables are seven fixed notes, the white keys of a piano. A sharp or a flat is added as a word, as in letter names: in Italian, diesis and bemolle.
Fixed do is how notes are named in much of continental Europe and Latin America, in French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese among others, and in many conservatories. A score in Paris names the note "sol" where one in London names it "G".
The syllables in movable do
In movable do, the syllables follow the key. Do is the key note, re the second note of the scale, mi the third, and so on. The same tune sung in any key keeps the same syllables, because it keeps the same shape. That is why it is the usual way to teach singing in the Kodály method and in many schools in Britain and the United States.
| Semitones above the key note | Movable do | In C major | In G major |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | do | C | G |
| 1 | di / ra | C♯ | G♯ |
| 2 | re | D | A |
| 3 | ri / me | D♯ | A♯ |
| 4 | mi | E | B |
| 5 | fa | F | C |
| 6 | fi / se | F♯ | C♯ |
| 7 | sol | G | D |
| 8 | si / le | G♯ | D♯ |
| 9 | la | A | E |
| 10 | li / te | A♯ | F |
| 11 | ti | B | F♯ |
Two syllables on a row are the same note raised from below and lowered from above: di is a raised do, ra a lowered re.
Which one goes with absolute pitch
Fixed do, or letter names, which work the same way. If "do" means C on Monday and G on Tuesday, the word cannot become attached to a sound. If it always means C, it can. For training absolute pitch, use a system where one name is one note and never moves.
Movable do is excellent training for relative pitch, and the two do not fight. Plenty of musicians sing in movable do and name notes by letter. The difference is set out in absolute and relative pitch, and the letter names, with their sharps and flats, in the names of the notes.
Questions
Is fixed do the same as absolute pitch?
No. Fixed do is a way of naming notes, and anyone can learn it. But because each syllable always means the same note, it fits absolute pitch: the name and the sound stay together.
Why is it si in one place and ti in another?
Both name the seventh note. Si is the older syllable and is used in fixed do. Many movable do teachers changed it to ti so that every syllable starts with a different letter.
Which names does Solfeto use?
Letter names, with sharps by default and flats as a setting. They mean the same fixed notes that fixed do names.